


And it burns, burns, burns.... at a snail's pace for WayHaught.

by Consuela_Banana



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV), wayhaught - Fandom
Genre: F/F, More comedy please, Nicole is a little more innocent don't kill me, POV First Person, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Wayhaught - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-08-19 18:42:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8221018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Consuela_Banana/pseuds/Consuela_Banana
Summary: Love is purportedly in the air for our favourite twosome, they of the 4.5 inch height difference. This picks up after their first meeting at Shorty's bar.





	1. NICOLE

**Author's Note:**

> I did another short story with a little slow burn but this one will defo be slow burn.
> 
> Feel the burnnnnn

Nicole

 

"I mean it" I smiled, firming up the stetson on my head and turning towards the door. _And I'll bet she's still looking_ , I thought to myself. The saloon doors swung open and shut as I walked out of the bar.

Ho-ly shit. I've been in my new job for all of ten days and I've already flirted with the barmaid at the local. Why do I do this to myself? I mean, I'd been stationed in Purgatory, some freak-ass backwater town where I have a real shot at impressing my boss, and I  _really_ want to do well here, and I go and make eyes at the local talent first chance I get. Good work Nicole.

As I left Shorty's bar, I got straight into my patrol car and did a radio check with the station, to see if anything was going down. It was 10.30am.

<radio interference static>

"Six-niner Lima, Golf, Bravo, Tango to base, radio check please?"

<radio interference static noise abruptly cut off>

"Officer Haught. We read you. Again." <static>

"That's a two-one-two, base. This is Six-niner Lima, Golf, Bravo, Tango checking in." <static>

<static>

"Base?"

<static>

"We read you, Officer. And I don't want to have to do this every morning, so kindly get off the radio and bring us back some pastries." <static>

"I read. Roger. And.. um.. over and out."

 

Radio checks are important. The academy manual said they should be done every time you use a patrol car. Or was it every different patrol car? I forget now. I'd been assigned this particular cruiser as my own on my first day, and I couldn't have been happier to have my own ride. I'd taken the bus to Purgatory and I didn't want to repeat that experience, plus I could use the cruiser outside of work too, which was a sweet deal.

I headed back to the station. Sheriff Nedley was waiting for me but he looked kinda angry so I kept out of his way. I headed over to my desk and started to thumb through the mountain of paperwork which was on my desk; apparently they'd saved a lot of the heavy administration for me so I could give it all a new look - y'know, fresh eyes an' all? - which was really kind. And I was told rookies got the bum deals when they were new into a job, weird? Although I found it really hard to concentrate, and my mind wandered all over the place and not focusing on the stacks of files in front of me. A name was dancing around my head so bad, I started to get a headache.

Waverly Earp.

I'd been warned about the Earps. Obviously I'd heard of Wyatt Earp, he's famous and a legend. Apparently the Earp girls were his great-great granddaughters, or some distant relation anyway, and they lived outside of town. There were three of them: Willa, the eldest; Wynonna the middle daughter; and Waverly the youngest Earp. Willa had gone missing when they were young and Wynonna had been gone a long time too, but Nedley tells me she's come back only recently. And as for Waverly,  _everyone_ told me she practically ran Shorty's bar - when Shorty wasn't there obviously. The locals also told me that Wynonna and Waverly were, well, a bit weird, and I'd best stay away from them if I could. But you see, you can't ask Nicole Haught to stay away from something, because it only makes me want it  _more_.

I hadn't met this Wynonna character yet (although Nedley had already told me she was trouble, and a stand-up drunk, which sounded interesting), but I'd noticed the door was open at Shorty's bar so I thought I'd take the plunge and see if she was there. And she was.

I've had a few girlfriends in my time; of course when I say a few I really do mean you can count them on one hand. It was hard growing up; in my town no-one had ever openly been with another person of the same sex, so I was like a specimen, constantly under scrutiny. When I was little I was teased over my ginger hair at school, and the other girls would pull on my pigtails until I cried. My younger brother pushed one of them one time, and he got kicked out of school because she fell and hit her head. My family were so angry - angry at my brother for getting expelled, and angry at me for needing him to stand up for me. That was when I learnt I had to look after myself. So I toughened up. But of course it gave the bullies even more ammo - now I was butch _and_ ginger. It was only once I'd got past 18 and burnt off my puppy fat (and learned how to properly put some make up on this face) that I started to realise there was a world out there and I wanted to see what it was like outside of the judgemental, prying eyes of my hometown. Once I'd got into the academy, it became clear that I wasn't the only person in the entire world who'd experienced feelings for someone of the same sex. For so long I'd pushed the feelings down inside of me, deep down, because I'd been brought up to believe it was wrong to feel attracted to another girl. My dad took me and my brother to bible study throughout our teens, where we read about everything, the Old Testament and New, and what was right and wrong in God's eyes. Little did my dad know the whole time I was wishing I could banish the strong, internalised feelings I was having for other girls; curiosity about the emotional and physical facets which only seemed to interest me offered by females. I had a couple of boyfriends, hell, I even went to the prom with one of them. He was a nice guy. I'd tried hard to squash all those feelings deep down but once I arrived at the academy, well, it didn't take long to realise I wasn't alone in my upbringing. During my time training, I'd made good friends and had some fun times. I'd had two serious girlfriends during my stay, one was another officer in training and the other was a civilian I'd met on a night out. I'd liked them a lot, but it was never love. In fact, I'd split up with my last girlfriend only six months ago because I wouldn't move with her where she was stationed, and when the subject of love reared its ugly head, that was the decider.

When I clapped eyes on Waverly.... holy smokes, she was fine. I don't really have a type, but I generally make it a rule not to get involved with straight girls because it only leads to a heap of trouble - mainly heartbreak. I'd heard from Nedley and some of the other guys that she was dating some guy called....what's his name... Champ? That's a pretty grand nickname, I hope he's earned it somehow. Anyway, the little Earp is dating this Champ dude but apparently she's smoking, so I thought I'd wander into Shorty's and try and get me a cappuccino. It was too early for coffee apparently, but I'm fairly certain I've left a lasting impression on Waverly Earp. I found myself flirting like a crazy woman with her because she'd got her shirt wet, so I left my card on the counter to arrange a coffee and I'm waiting for her to call. I shouldn't really get involved with one of the townsfolk should I? I mean, I want to make a good impression but that's taking it to the limit. If she does call, I'll just keep it light. Light and breezy. Y'know,  _hey yup, this is Haught, let's arrange for a meeting over coffee at 12noon in Shorty's_ , y'know all professional like. I'll bet she doesn't call though - I think I may have intimidated her a little.

<desk phone rings>

"Purgatory, Officer Haught Speaking."

"Officer Haught?"

"Yep, I mean that's me? I mean, speaking?"

"Oh hi. It's Waverly. Earp."

_Ho-ly shit._


	2. WAVERLY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Say hello to Waverly, Petite Little Diminuitive Goddess of Purgatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you may have noticed this is from a first person point of view. Or better yet, to save time, POV. Look how much time I saved abbreviating that?

Waverly

 

Wowzers. I can't believe what just happened. One minute the darn taps are literally exploding beer all over me, and the next there's some cop stood at the bar I've never seen before. She looks young too, maybe the same age as me even? I thought me and Champ were about the only young people in the whole of Purgatory, but it seems we have company. Anyway, my shirt was soaked from the goddamn tap explosion and  _of course_ , I got my shirt stuck on my head like only Waverly can, so I needed to get this cop to help me take it off. 

Then here's the thing.

She looked familiar, you know? I don't know her, I don't think we've ever met before. But she has the type of face that looks familiar, almost like you've know someone a long time. She seemed confident; perhaps the uniform does that to people. She was also kinda pretty. When she smiled her cheeks had little dimples and that was pretty cute. And brown eyes. God I'm a sucker for brown eyes. Wait, what? So I've got my shirt off, thanks to the cop, and now I feel all weird and awkward, like I don't want her to see me without my shirt on. I mean, I wouldn't want anyone to see me without my shirt on (oh apart from Champ! Whoops) but I didn't expect to feel this strange super-awkwardness around a police officer. I mean, protect and serve, right?

Turns out her name is Haught. Her name is Haught! That is so funny. It suits her actually. She has this gorgeous red hair which is all pinned back and imprisoned in the standard-issue stetson, but I bet when she cuts loose she wears her hair down. God, why am I even thinking of how she wears her hair? Maybe I've just been in this place too long - Purgatory I mean - and my mind is playing tricks on me. It's been so good having Wynonna home that my head is literally spinning so it makes sense that I was probably a bit weird about this new person too. Nicole Haught.

When she left I tucked her dog-eared card into the pocket of my jeans just in case I needed it. I didn't plan on needing it, actually, as I am super-organised and I can't even remember the last time I needed to visit the station. Nope, things have been quite quiet around here recently, but since Wynonna has been back: Boom! Things have gone cra-azy. Seriously though, I am so glad there is another Earp here to share the load. There's only so much finger-pointing and eye-rolling a Wyatt Earp descendant can take you know? Champ doesn't do either of those things though, he's so sweet. We've been together for about a year now, and he'd never dream of giving me grief over the whole Earp-sullied-name debacle. Honestly, I'm not even sure he knows who our great-great-granddaddy really was. Yeah, I'm not with him for his brains I guess. I had to get through my shift at Shorty's and then I could head home and see if Champ wanted to go out or do something.

It was about an hour or so after Officer Haught left Shorty's that I realised a badge had fallen onto the floor right where she'd been standing. I guess it'd fallen from her belt or something when she'd taken out her card. It's weird that she even gave me a card, I mean, I know where the cop station was, I have lived in Purgatory my whole life! And unfortunately had to frequent the station from time to time. Yeah, leaving a card with contact details was really.... hang on, she left me her details? Wait a minute. Officer Haught had been very friendly the whole time, I'd even go as far to say she was flirting with me. I'm not flattering myself here, she definitely was hitting on me (which made the whole shirt / shirtless thing a bit of an issue). But actually, you know what Waverly Earp? It felt..... nice. I liked it. I liked the attention. And thinking about it, she was more than kinda cute... she was hot. Haught! What the fuck Waverly?

I asked Shorty if he would call Officer Haught but he wouldn't, and I didn't want her to get in trouble with Sheriff Nedley for losing a badge so early into her new job, so I picked up the phone and dialled the number on the card. I'd imagined she wouldn't be there - no, probably out on call for something. Yeah, she won't be there and I can leave a voicemail, or send a fax, or... something.  _A fax? This card has a fax number. Is this 1995?_

<dial tone>

Yeah, I'll just leave a message.

"Purgatory, Officer Haught speaking?"

_Oh crap._


	3. NICOLE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole gets a phonecall from Waverly and things move on from there...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When Haught logs into her computer, her login is HaughtN, and her password is DoblerLloyd10. Did you know that?

Oh man, I genuinely wasn't expecting a phonecall from her, at least not so soon! I was kinda embarrassed to speak when I heard her voice at the end of it. Darn that stupid, cute little voice. Getting me all excited.

So Waverly found my badge in the bar - apparently I'd dropped it earlier, I actually had no idea so it's great that someone who I trust found it. If one of the other guys had found it, I'll bet they'd be out right now, flashing the badge around the next town over, telling anyone who'd listen that they're a deputy. Now I think about it more, it was damn lucky Waverly found it in Shorty's. What a lucky little meeting that was.

I found our phone conversation nice - if a bit weird. I'm not one for talking on the phone generally, but when the lines light up at the station, I gotta pick up. How'd it go again?

"Hi, this is Waverly. Earp."

"Oh hey"

<silence>

"So, um, I was calling you..."

"Uh-huh"

"..to let you know..."

"Uh-huh"

"....that..."

<silence>

"So you kind of left your badge. In the bar."

Yep, that was pretty much the jist of the call - and I was worried it would be awkward! Sweet of her to get in touch. To be honest, I wasn't really concentrating on what may or may not have been flying out of my pockets, as I was trying to keep my eyes on the pretty little thing behind the bar. Sure, I'd wanted a cappuccino, but I also wanted to see how much this Waverly girl wanted to play. As soon as I was behind that bar next to her, I could feel there was some chemistry there. It could have been chemistry, or it could have been the strong smell of beer that Waverly was soaked in, but either way, something was happening. For me, anyway.

I agreed with Waverly I'd swing by the bar again tonight after work and pick my badge up from her, once my shift ends. I wonder if her sister might be there too, Wynonna I think her name is? These Earps could be interesting, I like a bit of history; reading about it, learning it, creating it, whatever.

This freakass town had little to offer in the way of nightlife or friendly faces from as far as I can tell, and although I've only been here a short time, I've found myself craving a bit of company. I mean, I'm perfectly happy on my own - hell, I've been used to living life in my own head and bouncing ideas off me, myself and I - but I don't _know_ anyone here, and this place is cold. When I say cold, I mean temperature. But come to think of it, the general atmosphere can be stone cold too at times. The guy Waverly is dating cast me a look in the street the other day, and I didn't even know who he was until Sheriff Nedley cleared it up for me. I was all set to say Hi, tipping my hat an' all, but he looked at me as if I was the devil himself. Guess he won't be one for the Christmas card list. I guess some folks don't trust me. I'm a cop now, and I've realised not everyone loves a cop, I mean even my Daddy couldn't look me in the eye at graduation. I didn't turn out how he'd hoped; a tomboy girl, red hair, taller than average and looking to pursue a career in law enforcement - gosh what a cliche huh pops? My two brothers could have committed murder and in his eyes they'd still be alright, it's just that goddamn Nicole bringin' us all down, makin' us look stupid to everyone. Honestly, it hurts that he doesn't get me. He's finally accepted that I'm never gonna marry a guy, but he doesn't like it, and he reminds me with every cold hug and short phone chat we have. Goddamn it, I wish he'd just see the world how I see it.

I'd had a pretty average shift, nothing too crazy, a couple of drunks dropping their pants and scaring some young girls outside of Shorty's, but that was the dizzy heights of today, no great shakes. Honestly, I'd kept one thought in my mind all day, the opportunity to casually return to Shorty's bar and pick up my badge from that pretty little Earp. When she smiles.......it feels like the sun shines down on me, and me only. Wow, how do these words creep into my head? But how does she do that to people? Does everyone feel that way about Waverly, or just me? Focus, Nicole, focus. Actually, I'll keep it very official and just stop by very quickly, say thanks, and go home. I'm here to do a job, not hit on fine young women that happen to cross my path. Oh wait, didn't I go there in the first place to introduce myself to her? Goddamn it Nicole.

 


	4. WAVERLY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nicole moseys right on over to good ol' Shorty's bar, drinking establishment numero uno of Purgatory.

OK, so that didn't go _quite_ as I'd intended.

Working today had been a pain in my ass. I didn't want to be there, but someone's got to pay the bills, and God knows Wynonna hasn't been around so long for me to up sticks and find something new. Actually, I'm probably being a bit harsh on Shorty's bar; it had been some stability whilst everything else was crazy. I guess sometimes I'm lucky, because I can get studying done when I'm not working a shift, and they're pretty good to me, letting me switch things around if need be, but that's probably more to do with Gus being an absolute sweetheart than anything else. But today, I just wasn't feeling it at all. I always come home feeling grubby and sweaty, it sure isn't glamorous. So I'd pretty much given up on today being anything other than sucky, and then all of a sudden, they just got - how can I put this - interesting.

I noticed that darn hat again before anything else. OK, who am I kidding, I saw those absolutely adorable dimples from way behind the bar. The fact that I even remember the dimples just shows how crazy I've become; no doubt spending too long in this stupid town is turning me bananas. The officer had come back for her badge and I was happy to give it to her, you know, one good turn deserves another, etc etc. She seemed really relieved too, and I'm glad she isn't going to get in trouble with Nedley, because he can be an ass sometimes. I mean, I can say that because he's Chrissie's dad, I've known him for like, ever. Alright, he's a good guy, but I've seen him angry and I really didn't want this new deputy to get in his bad books already, she's new and seemed kinda sweet.

She stayed for a drink and that was cool, there aren't many people in this town I can chat to at length, and it's good to have another girl around the place. I mean, when you think about the type of company we keep here, someone who isn't a revenant is alright in my book, plus this officer seemed genuine, honest; she always listened to what I had to say and seemed genuinely interested in whatever we talked about. I can't even think what we talked about now, it couldn't have been that exciting. Gus had left me to it at the bar, and I like being in charge, so it wasn't a shabby way to end the day.

The officer - Nicole, she'd asked me to call her - looked a bit tired now I come to think of it, I guess she'd had a long day too. A few times she checked the time but she wasn't heading anywhere fast, perhaps she lives by herself, it can't be easy to go home to an empty place when you're new in town. Oh man, that makes sense now, she probably _did_ want some company! Those guys down at the station won't have even thought about the fact that she's just moved here and doesn't know anyone. Maybe it's for the best, to be unknown, rather than being infamous like us Earps. Which was it Gus said now, infamous, or notorious? I forget.

I'd held onto this badge in my pocket since I found it, and when I handed it over, her face was, well, she just looked really happy. I wasn't even sure she was that happy about the badge itself when our hands met, but she was sure thinking of something as she blushed a little. Yeah, actually, now I think about it, those little dimples she has when she smiles (the real smiles, not the ones where someone's taking your class photo), she tries to hide them like she's embarrassed or something. I don't think she should, they make you feel like you've done something special. It's nice to know you're making someone happy when they can't control it; I remember Champ's face being like that a year or so ago, he'd get a dimpled chin through having the biggest, broadest smile, but I haven't seen that lately. It's not that he isn't happy, sometimes he's _very_ happy, and he doesn't even have to use his face to let me know. No, Nicole is different, when she looks at you, I don't know how to describe it, it's like I've known her forever. I had a good feeling, like I know we're going to be friends.

It was all good until she went to leave, and then it was almost as if she was trying to play it cool, all casual like, and it was really weird because it wasn't casual at all. Looking back on it, it was probably because she accidentally knocked over her coffee cup (there wasn't really anything in it) but we both went to grab it at the same time and of course, like in the movies, I grabbed her hand instead of the cup. And I must have been transported into some weird parallel universe where things only happen in slow motion due to a problem with the earth's gravitational pull, because neither of us let go. I mean of course we let go, but it felt like I only got my hand back after three hours. And the even _weirder_ thing was, was that I didn't even mind. It was like Lady and the Tramp (God I love that movie) and the cup was the spaghetti. Or I was the spaghetti? Or something about spaghetti. Either way, I didn't seem to be able to let go. Maybe I'd just had a bad day, or bad decade, I just can't pinpoint it. It made me feel funny.

So that was probably it, and then when Nicole went to go, I started talking all kinds of crap because I felt really nervous after the never-ending hand touch, which was actually kind of lovely, and then I felt like I'd said too much and the words wouldn't stop falling out of my mouth. I'll admit, when I get nervous, I talk. And I talk pretty fast anyway, so I don't even know if what I was saying was actually even words. But I don't get why I was even so nervous, this girl felt like a friend, more than that - maybe a best friend type - maybe it was because my stomach was turning. OK not turning, it felt like I had butterflies or something. Maybe it was that sandwich I had earlier.

When we finally said goodbye, I felt like I'd run a marathon. A marathon where you get to spend time with pretty redheads who carefully listen to you talk and have great conversation with, who seem educated and world-wise, rather than some of the narrow-minded folks here. It was almost a shame to go home because I'd promised to see Champ and I wasn't sure I'd have the luxury of that type of discussion again. I guess I'll arrange something with Nicole, yeah that's a good idea, grab a coffee so we can catch up. I think she was thinking of the same thing anyway, because when she left she told me to call her and gave me her number. Ha ha, y'know, if I was listening to this, I'd almost certainly be saying that she was hitting on me, and even better, she gave me her number! That's hilarious! I doubt she was though, she knows I have a boyfriend. I'm fairly certain I talked about Champ to her, at some point..... I must have? I would have mentioned it, surely? Why would I not? Why would I not tell this super cute officer about him, that doesn't make any sense? Maybe she hypnotised me? I'll have to get drug-tested, just to make sure she didn't rub something into my gums when I wasn't looking. No seriously, how did I fail to bring up Champ in the conversation? I guess it didn't come up.... she doesn't need to know about him though right, it's not like anything's going to happen between us, we're two girls. We just have this great chemistry, like I'm sure all potential best friends do. Yep, that's it; I look at her and I see us being really close - I just know it. I see us being really close, sharing the same humour, talking about the same things, being together. Holding hands.... wait, what?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm thinking of trademarking "Wait, what?" for Waverly.


	5. NICOLE

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bless her heart, Officer Dimples is trying to be all formal and professional in the face of, well, being all ga ga over Waves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurry up season two! I'm not sure how much more fanfic I can stomach because it makes me want to see more on the screeeeen!

NICOLE

 

Oh boy, I am all over this one. I am on the case. On. The. Case. A call came over the radio for something or other and Nedley told me to get out there and show them the cold, hard, long arm of the law. At first I thought he was being kinda rude but then I figured Nedley wasn't that type of guy and I should stop thinking everything sounds like something to do with sex, and focus on the job. The job! See what I did there? Oh man, I need to get laid.

So me and one of my colleagues headed out to the East side of town, to the Bus and Truck body shop; not somewhere I've been before I can tell you with certainty, but I get the feeling this wasn't the first time Purgatory's finest had been called out to this place. There was a disturbance - a classic forty six sixty in my book - so we hot-footed it over to the Bus and Truck to check it out. Turns out, the guy that owns the body shop had gotten into an argument with one of his customers, and it'd all kicked off. As soon as we'd got in there, there were arms flyin' and legs kickin' and both guys were too crazy for my liking, so we told them to calm the heck down or both of them were getting locked up tonight. Unfortunately for him, Buddy, the owner of Bus and Truck, tried to grab at the other guy and he knocked my hat clean off my head. Now I may be a rookie, but I know that _no-one_ knocks a hat off an officer, whether they're a deputy or a sheriff. He got cuffed so quickly his head was spinnin'. I said to him don't _ever_ knock my hat off again and I thought he was going to piss his pants. I'm glad he didn't because urine is a bitch to get out of the carpet of the cruiser and I'm not doing that again, I don't care who does it. At least Wynonna had the decency to make me pull over that time so she could get behind a fire hydrant.

By the time we got back to the station, Buddy had calmed down and he almost made me feel sorry for him; he'd had a disagreement with one of his customers and they'd tried to knock him for half the bill. I felt for Buddy, what with times being hard at the moment, but I stand by the letter of the law and you can't get all violent on anyone you choose and, well, the _hat_ thing just got me all riled up.

When I got back to my desk there was a cold latte on my desk in one of those takeaway cups - I usually prefer my cup of joe in good ol' fashioned earthware - with a note on it. It was an unexpected treat but I'm not really into cold coffee, so that was a shame. The note was written directly on the cup and I would've sworn it must've been scribbled on by a child or something because I've not seen much worse handwriting in my time. Turns out it was Wynonna; she'd swung by my desk earlier in the day and passed on a message from her sister. I could just about make out the following, which was scrawled in Sharpie around the curve of the cup:

Haught. Waves says she wants to get together for coffee. Call her

PS I drank some of your latte

PPS You owe me $3 for the coffee

Great. I can't wait to see how much debt I can wrack up in stone-cold caffeine I didn't ask for. Wynonna really knows how to grind my gears but she means well. It's actually kinda funny, I can't get too mad at her. I guess I wouldn't be so soft for the small fact of who she is related to. Not Wyatt Earp - we all know that now - but that sister of hers. Damn, she has me strung up. When I saw her at Shorty's the other day, she looked so good I could barely get two words together to make a sentence; and the way she looks at me, I could swear.... well, I could swear she was flirting with me. Gosh Nicole, I think you're flattering yourself. If anyone's doing any flirting around here it's me, and if there's one thing I'm _not_ a rookie at, it's putting on the charm offensive once I see something I like.

Another time Wynonna left me a message on my desk but I had to put it in the trash right away because it contained more curses than a cheap movie on Halloween. We'd had a bit of a ding-dong earlier in the day and she wanted to let me know we were cool - it just so happened it was interspersed with a few choice words here and there. How she and the ray of sunshine that is her sister came from the same place, I'll never know.

You know, the more I think about it, I think I'm gonna get in touch with Waverly Earp about that coffee. We had a bit of a 'moment' in the bar and it made me feel all dizzy and light-headed, like I couldn't focus. At first I thought I'd drank the wrong drink but now I start to remember, I believe it must have been the sizzlin' Haught tractor beam reflecting off Waverly and hitting me like a ton of bricks. We touched hands and it was like an electric shock went through me - in a good way - and I just couldn't let go of that tiny little hand of hers. I kept thinking how nice it felt, and I didn't want it to end.

She's so pretty. I can't even describe it. It's like when she speaks, the whole room goes silent and whatever she says is good, and kind, and frankly wonderful. I haven't met a girl like her in...... Jesus, I don't think....?

So I got in touch with her. I sent a message back with Wynonna for her sister that we'd meet for coffee up the road on Sunday morning, as it was my day off. Wynonna just said Waverly would be there as it was unlikely she'd have any other plans, so to go ahead and put it in my diary. I wanted to ask if she was definitely free as she may be doing something with Champ but Wynonna kind of snorted back at me. I liked the snort. She was trying to tell me something and I got the hint.

Hot damn I can't wait until Sunday. I may even wear my hair down.


	6. WAVERLY

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's head on down for some rootin' tootin' coffee shall we? Waverly and Nicole have a lovely little platonic Sunday morning catch up.

WAVERLY

 

Holy heck, anyone would think there was only one joint in town where you could get a cup of coffee. I thought it'd be a change to grab some caffeine in somewhere other than Shorty's, but whaddya know? I'm no sooner sat down than I see Wynonna sidle into the coffee shop surreptitiously, like she thinks she's some kind of freaking secret agent, and then she's hiding behind a plant in the corner. What a douche! I knew she'd come to spy on me; to see what I got up to with Nicole - I mean, not that we were going to get up to anything, that's purely a figure of speech - but it's so annoying to think she had nothing better to do!

Of course when Nicole showed up I had to alert her to Wynonna's presence immediately, but Nicole said she'd already scoped her out the minute she arrived a few minutes after my sister did; apparently Wynonna can't keep her potty mouth shut and her coffee was hot soooo..... curse words ensued. That plant could hide a lot but it couldn't hide my stupid older sister turning the air blue.

I'm glad Nicole found it just as ridiculous as I did that we were being spied on, I like being around people with a sense of humour. It's even better if they can laugh at themselves as well as other things, y'know, a bit of self-deprecation never hurt anyone at all. If I said self-deprecation to Champ he would probably think it meant something saucy and therefore it just isn't worth entering into conversations with him that contain sentences interspersed with words formed with more than one syllable. If I hear him say 'pacific' instead of 'specific'  _one_ more time I'm going to freaking lose it. I don't know, I may have to ram a dictionary up his ass or something. Well anyway, the fact that Nicole could laugh at Wynonna just as much as me - I just know we're going to get along really well.

Thinking about it, I had a really great time with her actually, just kicking back and enjoying a decent cup of joe. She's so..... _interesting._ She has so many tales about back home, the academy, being here; I could listen to her all day. And it's not just what she says either, it's the  _way_ she says it. Everything she says seems to be exciting and fresh and new. I don't know, maybe I've been in Purgatory too long, or maybe it being just me, Gus and Curtis for so long my brain has scrambled, so that anything that isn't Champ's favourite Wrestlemania YouTube clips is looking like an Oscar-winning, Pulitzer Prize-nominating, Grammy award-interrupting speech which makes her stories the best stories of all time - all time! - and they're so easy to listen to.

We talked about me too, of course. Nicole was interested in hearing about why us Earp girls are so infamous around these parts, and all the things that Wynonna used to get up to when we were younger. She nearly spat out her latte when I told her about the time Wynonna drugged the school rabbit and set fire to the janitor's underpants; gosh, those were the days. I wouldn't have cared if she did spit out her coffee, it would have given Wynonna something to log down in her super secret spy journal. (Note to self: buy Wynonna kids' spy kit for Christmas.)

Nicole also seems to be a really good listener. When I was talking, if it were Champ opposite, his eyes would glaze over - like they often did - and he'd start to look out the window or start playing with his cellphone. OK, granted, not everyone wants to talk about ancient languages or....I don't know, the Aztecs for example, but he could at least  _look_ as if he was interested. I guess being in a relationship with boring old me for a year or so is really hard going. No, when I was talking to Nicole about something or other, she just held my gaze like....like....like what I was saying was the most interesting thing she'd heard that day. Hey - maybe it was? Ha! Who am I kidding, she was probably being polite. But when I was talking and she was listening, and we'd hold eye contact, I could see a fleck of green in her eyes. It was really pretty.

So stupid Wynonna fell off her chair of course, so I had to go over there and tell her to stop making her coffee 'irish' and leave us be. She pretended to be surprised that I was in the coffee shop - "I had NO idea Waves!" - and eventually I got her to leave. Nicole was pretty sweet actually; she came over and asked if Wynonna wanted to join us but before she could answer I'd already dragged her halfway to the door. Nice idea Nicole, but she's not gonna let us talk how we were talking, about the world and everything in it, because that just isn't exciting enough for my sister. She'd be happy to be the third wheel, and want gossip. And besides, I liked it being just the two of us.

I think it's fair to say I had a good time going out for coffee. Y'know, it's not always easy being the youngest in the Earp family in this town; people talk about you - behind your back _and_ to your face, they have no shame - they look at you funny, they sometimes cross the street (especially when I'm with Wynonna), and sometimes.... sometimes I guess I feel like I need someone to talk to. Someone who isn't Gus, or.... well I was going to say Champ but, who am I kidding. Man, it's been really refreshing talking to Nicole and just getting it all out there. Someone who'll listen to me jabber on, and someone who can hold a witty conversation, and be super interesting themselves.... yeah, I think Nicole and I are gonna be really good friends. I need someone like this in my life. When we were talking about her family and being back at home, she said she wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and she was hoping to make Purgatory her home. Finally! It's so nice to have someone around like that.

She said she'd found it hard to make friends, or certainly people she wanted to spend her spare time with in this town, as it's hard to make the distinction between being in 'Cop mode' and switching off. I never really thought of it like that, I guess she's probably struggled with knowing when to be Officer Haught and then drawing that line and being just Nicole. Oh man when I say _just_ Nicole, I don't mean it like that. I mean she isn't being a police officer. It's her first post too so she probably wants to make a super good impression. I asked her if she thought she'd made a good impression so far and...... and her response was, what was it again? She said "I seem to be doing alright so far, it depends if you're going to ask me for my number instead of sending messages through your sister?"

When Nicole said that, I must've drunk my coffee too fast or something because my face felt really hot and my cheeks were probably pink. Just as I was about to respond someone dropped a tray of cups on the tiles behind us, which was such a loud crash, I nearly jumped out of my skin! Nicole's hand flew down to her belt but there was nothing there - it was so bizarre seeing that happen. She was clearly reaching for her handgun instinctively, but on this occasion she was Nicole and not Officer Haught. Seeing her do that, I mean, seeing her think so quickly about the danger, and looking to protect us like that, it was... it was kinda...... oh Waverly, what are you thinking?

We said we'd meet up again soon and that is a-OK with me. I'm not sure when I can find the time though, I'm not sure when I'm free.... apart from EVERY single day in this godforsaken town! Oh that's if I'm not doing anything with Champ, I guess.

I didn't tell Champ I'd come out for coffee with Nicole this morning, I said I was visiting Chrissy Nedley.

As I fumbled for my keys to the jeep, I realised Nicole had slipped a napkin into my jacket pocket. I can't say for sure when she'd done that, but I imagine it was when we had a little hug to say goodbye. To be honest, it was unexpected as I didn't think Nicole would be much of a hugger, but as it turned out, I seemed to fit quite nicely into her tall frame; and she smelt nice too..... really nice. Mmm. I can't put my finger on it. I recognised the perfume but I can't think what it is. I'll ask her next time.

The napkin had a coffee ring stain on it and a telephone number, where she'd clearly managed to scribble down some stuff whilst I was in the bathroom a little earlier.

'Here's my digits. Don't be so shy next time. X'

I've kept the napkin.

This was a good Sunday. I like looking back over these types of conversations and replaying them in my mind. But I still can't put my finger on Nicole's scent; it wasn't too sweet, nor exotic, or citrusy; it was familiar yet individual, and comforting. I'll definitely have to find out what it is because I like it. I like it on her.

Oh Jesus. Wynonna's just poured bleach into the washer instead of fabric softener. Here I go......!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Wynonna, what are you like?
> 
> I hope you're enjoying this so far, sorry my updates have been a bit few and far between. This is because I've just discovered Supergirl (ha ha!) and have a lifetime of regret for not tuning in sooner, given all the shizzle that's been going on in the last couple of weeks. So as much as I am pining to write a Sanvers fic, I will keep going with this one. 
> 
> That's if you think it's worthwhile? The slow burn is killing me somewhat. Let me know what you think, all feedback is gratefully received, if you have ideas on what these two should get up to in their next caper just let me know!


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